The present invention relates in general to differential gear assemblies and in particularly to an improved means for retaining a gear-supporting shaft within a differential case.
Differential gear assemblies are well known in the art and typically include one or more shafts retained within a case for rotatably supporting certain gears. One problem associated with such differential gear assemblies involves the particular means for retaining such shafts within the differential case. A number of means are commonly utilized to perform this retaining function, namely, lock pins, spring pins, screws, external snap rings, and the like. Unfortunately, such prior art retaining means usually require a number of extra loose parts, which contribute to the complexity and cost of the differential gear assembly. Also, such prior art retaining means frequently extend or are disposed externally of the differential case, thus enlarging the amount of space required to contain the differential gear assembly. Finally, special tools are often required to assemble and disassemble such prior art differential gear assemblies. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a means for retaining a shaft within a differential case which avoids these problems.